Wednesday, July 30, 2014

I find it very easy
to forget that we are in Ghana. I get so immersed in everyday activities and
all the fun we are having that I forget where we actually are. But then I see
or experience something, and I am instantly reminded. One of these times was when
we went to Elmina Castle, one of the remaining castles that was a stop on the
Atlantic slave trade. The castle was built by the Portuguese in 1482 and
originally began as a trading post for materials, predominantly gold and ivory,
before turning to human trade. In 1637, the Dutch seized the castle from the
Portuguese and in 1872, the Dutch ceded the castle to the British when the
slave trade was abolished.

Walking through the
castle and learning about the history behind every structure was a very somber
and humbling experience. The female and male slave dungeons were very small
considering the hundreds of slaves that were in each dungeon. This caused for
close quarters amongst the slaves within the cell, a space where they spent all
of their time and where they went to the bathroom. It was also dark and musky –
there were no real windows to allow for light or airflow. The dungeons were
starkly contrasted with the governor’s quarters, which were expansive, open,
and airy, and consisted of a bedroom, bathroom, and sitting room. The disparity
of the quality of life between those in charge and those enslaved was very
evident. The governor’s quarters were located right above the female slave
dungeon. This was so that the governor could choose a woman right from his
balcony to come to his bedroom, which was reached by a wooden staircase that
led directly to the bedroom from the female slave quarters.

The view from the governor’s balcony
down to the female slave dungeons

Two of the most
difficult things to see at Elmina Castle were the “door of no return” and the
cell where slaves were sent to die. The door of no return was on the seaside of
the castle and was a very skinny, very short opening that led out to the
waiting boats to take the slaves away to the larger European ships that they
would spend the next three months on for a journey called the Middle Passage, a
trip in which many slaves died due to very poor conditions that caused diseases
and rough weather. To imagine men and women squeezing through such a small
doorway, being terrified for they do not know where they are going, is very hard
for head and heart to imagine.

When slaves broke the
rules or tried to escape, they were sent to a cell to die. The cell was much
smaller than the male and female dungeons and had even less openings for
airflow and light to enter. We entered this particular cell, and after all of
us entered, our tour guide shut the door and we were enveloped in darkness. The
few minutes that we spent in that room were very eerie and heartbreaking for
the ground we were standing on was same ground that people took their last
breaths on and even though it was hundreds of years ago, you could still feel
the pain and the fear. The goal of this cell was to further torture and punish
the disobedient slaves, while also making an example of them to all the others.

The castle is strikingly
beautiful - the tall white walls with contrasting black doors and shutters
everywhere are visually very appealing. In all directions around the castle are
spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean and the fishing community in Elmina.
All the beauty surrounding the castle and even within it felt very contrasting
to what we were learning and feeling as we went on our tour. It is often very
difficult to imagine the horrors of slavery, but walking through Elmina Castle,
I could clearly envision the pain and suffering, fear, and unjustness of the
castle’s history.

The vibrant fishing community in Elmina

When we were driving
away from the castle, we were all pretty quiet. When we got home that night, we
discussed how we felt and how the day impacted us as a group. All of us have
learned about slavery throughout our educations, but this was different than
learning through a textbook and brought up all new emotions. We talked about
the guilt we felt for our ancestors’ actions, as well as the guilt we feel
personally for some of the privilege we have today being a result of these
terrible things that happened in the past. It was a day that required a lot of
reflection to understand the inhumanity behind it all and a great way to remind
us that even though this tragic event happened in the past, there is inequality
and disparity of human rights all over the world that still exists to this day,
through racism, modern day slavery, women’s rights, and so much more, and that
we should not slack on our advocacy for equality and human rights.

I believe that it was
very important for us as a group to go to Elmina Castle. While it was very
difficult and hard to see, it was a great learning and enlightening experience
for us as human beings, and also because it is a large part of Ghana’s history
and was impactful on its culture today. During this trip, we have been working
to immerse ourselves into all aspects of Ghanaian culture, and I feel that this
is just as important if not more to be learning about to truly understand
certain aspects of Ghanaian life.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

On July 25th, our group had the wonderful opportunity to
travel to a nearby village, Atekyedo (pronounced ata-che-dough). One of our Ghanaian friends, Atta Keelson, is
the director of an NGO called ISHEW, International Sustainable Health,
Education, and Water. It is a fairly new NGO (2010) and has some close ties to
GVSU. Atta asked that we accompany him to Atekyedo to help clean the Bio-Sand
Filters in the village. This is something that each group from past years of
the service-learning program has helped with since the filters have been in
place. These filters look like three-foot-tall, blue plastic garbage cans with
a clear plastic tube coming out the side. Inside are layers of sand and other
sediments which filter the water as it is poured through so it is safe enough
to drink. The diffusing basket, the lid and the plastic tubing should be
cleaned once every two weeks, while the filter itself should be cleaned once every
three months. Atta came to the hostel on the 24th and gave us a
demonstration on how to clean the filters and it seemed easy enough, so we were
excited to go out and help!

Bio-Sand Filter

Every morning, we all remind each other to take our anti-malaria
medications but that morning we were also making sure those who get motion sick
(like me) took their Dramamine. We packed up the bus with the gifts for the
village and water sachets and were on our way. Thank goodness for the Dramamine
because that ride was probably one of the bumpiest, slowest bus rides since we
have been here.

The differences between Accra and Winneba are one thing, but traveling to
Atakyedo was an entirely new step. This village was tiny farming community in
what seemed like the middle of nowhere. It was immediately apparent why this
village needed the Bio-Sand filters since there was no running water from
pipes, and the closest water source was a 30 minute round-trip walk, and even
then the water they collect is not safe to directly drink. The idea came up
that maybe they would benefit from a well, but the land is not suitable for
that.

We had been told by our supervisors that we would have to meet the Chief
of the village before we could do any work there. As we pulled up, the Chief
was there to welcome us as we walked off the bus. We had been instructed that
when we greet the Chief, we should shake with our right hand and then our left
hand should hold the bottom of our right forearm. After greeting the Chief, we
walked to an open area in the middle of the village for the official greeting ceremony.
They set up some benches and chairs in a circle (ish) for the community members
and ourselves to sit in. The men, women and children each sat in separate
sections. In my experience with the Ghanaian children, they have all been
pretty out going and are always willing to say “Obrouni, how are you?” when we
pass. These children were the most well behaved children I have encountered
while in Ghana. They all sat very respectfully and quietly. Since most of the
people in Atekyedo did not speak much English if at all, we had Samuel, our Ghanaian
friend who studied at GVSU last fall, serve as our interpreter. Most of the
time, I had absolutely no idea what was going on or what was being said, with
the exceptional “Grand Valley” or “students” being thrown in the conversation
every so often.

It is tradition that when you greet a chief that you bring gifts. Our
gifts were Peach Schnapps and a bit of money. After the Chief and the elders
accepted the gifts, they used the schnapps for a ceremonial prayer, pouring the liquor on the earth and praying aloud. One thing that I enjoyed
and brought me back to my high school days was starting and ending the
conference with prayer, just as we used to start and end each school day. The
one thing that seemed a little strange was that the man who was saying the
prayer removed his right shoe before doing actually saying the prayer. When we
were finished with prayer, the Chief and the village leaders welcomed us and
asked what our purpose was for visiting Atekyedo. Our faculty advisor, Dr. Azizur Molla,
introduced us and explained that we were students from GVSU in Michigan who
have come to strengthen the relationship between the village and GVSU, as well
as keeping the promise to come back each year to help with the Bio-Sand filters.

Azizur said, “We are all
citizens of a global village, where we are able to learn from and help each
other.” This stuck out to me because of some of our previous discussions we
have had during debriefings. We have discussed how some people have this image
of traveling to “help the poor people of Africa,” yet sometimes that service
might not be something the people of that area want. A quote from an article I
read was “if you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if
you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work
together.” This quote made me think about what Azizur was saying at the Chief
meeting.

The trip we came on is called a
service-learning trip for a reason. We are here first to serve, whether that be
with Challenging Heights, the Ghana Health Service, or ISHEW in doing whatever
they need us to do rather than doing what we think they need, and second to
learn. This learning is partially from the credits GVSU awards us, but more
importantly from the lessons we learn through our experiences with the people
and environment here. In helping the
people in Atekyedo, we learned skills that could be handy at any point in the
future if we were to work with ISHEW or Bio-Sand filters again. But more
importantly, the experience there had made an impact on each of us in one way
or another.

One of the things GVSU has done in working with Atekyedo is raising
money for a cassava press and a building to house it. The Chief told us that
the press is no longer in working condition because we have been unable to
raise enough money to build a structure to house it. This was really sad to
hear since the cassava project has the potential to bring in new jobs and rev
up the economy in this little village. We are still hopeful that we will be
able to help provide funds to fulfill our promise in the future.

Thanking the Chief and village elders

After the meeting with the chief, we walked down the road for a tour of the school
ISHEW advocated to the government to build for the children in Atekyedo. It was
set up for students up to 6th grade. It was a very nice school with
huge blackboards in each room and had plenty of desks to go around. While we
were wandering around, the children followed us quietly as shadows. One of the
classrooms had song lyrics for what looked like a church song on the
blackboard. When the children saw it, they started to sing. Their voices
sounded so nice together. Once they finished their song, we started singing the
only fante song we know, Da na se. They joined in too, which was awesome!! Once
we finished singing, we presented the head master of the school and the Chief
our gifts for the school. These included some class set books and other school
supplies that they needed. They were so happy to have received these supplies
which made us happy to feel like we made even the smallest difference to the
school!

Atekyedo School

We finished up at the school and headed back to the village to be
introduced to the filters and how to clean them. We were split into five groups
of three and given the cleaning supplies for the filters: small sponges with
string tied to them to clean the tubing, chlorine bleach to make the water safe
to drink after cleaning the filter, a bar of soap to clean the top and
diffuser, a bucket to collect water, a cup to measure the flow rate of the
filter, and a spoon to scoop out excess water from the filter before cleaning
if needed. Atta brought us into one of the houses, which already had a clean
filter just to show us the parts of the filters and demonstrate how it works.
When we walked into the house I honestly I do not know what I was expecting to
see, but it definitely wasn’t emptiness. The house had only two rooms, the
first of which was almost completely empty and the second had just the filter,
a bed and a dresser. I was somewhat surprised not to see a bathroom or kitchen.
I guess I really shouldn’t have been since Isee people preparing meals outside and others using the sewers as
bathrooms all the time but I never really thought that maybe they do that because
they didn’t have things like that in their homes. That’s definitely something I
have obviously always taken for granted, especially since I have a kitchen and
a bathroom (a toilet and shower with running water) both at home and here at
the hostel.

Cleaning Supplies

Atta wanted to
show us how to actually clean the filters so we wandered to another home. The
filter in this home was very dirty, perfect for demonstration. We removed the
lid and diffuser to clean with the soap, scooped the extra water from the top
of the filter into the bucket with the spoon, and then stirred the remaining
water very lightly, making sure not to disturb the sand layer at the top. We
removed the tubing and cleaned it with the sponge and string. The only thing
left to do was check the flow rate. For this, we filled the Bio-Sand Filter
with some water and collected water in the cup. We timed the water coming out of
the filter for one minute and measured the amount that came out. If it was less
than half a regular water bottle, then the filter needed to be stirred again.
If not, the water is ready to be collected. This water isn’t as safe to drink
straight away since the sediment layers may have been disturbed with the
cleaning so we added two or three drops of the chlorine bleach to the water to
sanitize it. This water is still not safe enough to drink either so we ask that
they let the collected water sit in the bucket for two days and give the home a
pack of water sachets as a supplement.

We thought we were all ready to go out and clean but then we realized
that we had five groups but only four interpreters. We needed the interpreters
to help us collect information through questionnaires that ISHEW had created. The
questionnaires were used to collect data for ISHEW, for example, if people know
how to clean the filters themselves, where and how they get the water to put in
the filter, and how the filters have been beneficial to the family. The
villagers did not speak much English, so the interpreters were very important
to have in each group. My group got split up so we made-due with what supplies
we had and borrowed from other nearby groups when we needed something we didn’t
have. Each group was assigned to clean seven filters but fellow GV student Chloe
and I had to try to get five while trying to share Atta as our interpreter with
another group. This made things difficult enough, but there also wasn’t an
organized way to monitor what houses had been cleaned and which hadn’t. The
village was basically a bunch of randomly placed homes and structures which
would have made it hard to navigate and organize even if we did have a better
system. Also, the randomness of the homes also caused some confusion when it
came to house numbers. Each home was supposed to have a house number but some
had the same number as others, and some didn’t have a number which made it
increasingly difficult to differentiate the houses on the questionnaires.

Another somewhat frustrating thing was that we did not have sufficient
cleaning supplies. We had the soap but no sponges or rags to clean the lids and
diffusers. I felt bad asking the homeowners to borrow their own cleaning
supplies, but we wanted to clean the filters so it was a necessary request.

Cleaning the filters

In all of this, there were redeeming moments; it was when I realized
that the people of Atekyedo would not be able to clean the filters the way we were
on their own because they do not have the chlorine water handy in their homes.
This made me realize I was doing something to actually help since the filters
are supposed to be cleaned this way every three months, but I am almost
positive they do not get cleaned that frequently.

While filling out one of the questionnaires, a man responded to the
question on where he gets his water to put in the filter by saying that he will
collect it every time it rains so he does not have to make the 30 minute round
trip walk to the nearest water source. I was happily surprised by how
resourceful this man was and wondered why other families or individuals of
Atekyedo didn’t do the same thing.At
the same time, however, it got me thinking about the water I have in my life that
could be in a bottle, from the faucet, from the shower head, in the toilet,
anywhere, and how it seems to just always be there for me when I need it. Thinking
about having to walk 30 minutes for water that isn’t even clean enough to drink
and having to put it through a filter really got to me.

Interviewing for the questionnaires

I found myself comparing what I had even at the hostel with what these
people had in their homes. I have electricity and wifi, a bed to sleep in, a
fan to keep me cool and so many other things that I don’t even think about just
because they have always been a part of my life. I always have water clean
enough to drink when I need it, and food to snack on when I get even the
slightest bit hungry. When at home I get hungry and look in the pantry for
something to eat, but then walk away from a full cupboard because it’s not
exactly what I had a taste for in that moment. It is pretty frustrating to
think about and feel so undeserving of what I have in comparison to the people
in Atekyedo. I didn’t do anything to deserve being born into my family instead
of a family here or in a similar community. Since this is obviously something I
am not able to change, it is something I need to internalize and be mindful of
at home. Even if that means just doing something small like taking colder,
shorter showers or something big like working with GV’s student organization to
create a fundraiser for ISHEW and the people of Atekyedo.

All in all, it was a really nice to visit Atekyedo and feel like I was
doing something worthwhile to the people, and I am excited to work with Atta
Keelson and ISHEW again in one way or another!

Check out ISHEW's blog at http://www.isheworg.blogspot.com or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ishewgh?fref=ts

Monday, July 28, 2014

Ghana is absolutely amazing. And as we draw closer and
closer to our departure date, I try to think less about it and more about
making the most of the time we have left. However, this last week has been a
great time to sit and reflect on our experiences thus far and the relationships
that have been built.

Last weekend, the 12th and 13th, we
had our final presentations and exams for our class that we completed during
the first week of our trip. Getting this over with was a huge weight off of all
of our shoulders, and I know we were all so relieved. That Saturday night, a
bunch of us were sitting on the porch listening to music and playing cards like
usual, and then thanks to fellow GVSU student Alexis our worlds were rocked as we learned what may
be the greatest game I have ever played: NERTZ. It’s like solitaire with a
partner against 6 other pairs of people all playing off the same cards and it
involved a lot of yelling, squealing, and cracking up. I was sweating more
playing NERTZ than I think I ever have while working out, and my stomach hurt
from laughing afterwards, which has become a very common occurrence with this
group of girls. There was some competition between some of the teams, but fellow GVSU student Steph
and I were so far behind I could just have a good time with absolutely no hope of
ever winning. We played for easily 3 hours that night, and for the next 3
nights and afternoons and whenever we got the chance. NERTZ is just one of many
things that have brought this group closer together and one of many things that
has made me realize how lucky I am to have been blessed with this opportunity.

After our final exams, we got the chance to focus more of
our attention on our individual placements in the Challenging Heights school,
office, or the Ghana Health System. We didn’t have any set schedule for the
whole group, so it was a chance for us to become more independent living in
Winneba. Almost every day, I walk to the junction to catch a taxi by myself,
saying good morning and being addressed as Adjoa (Monday born) by all the
Ghanaians I see on a daily basis. I ride to work at the Challenging Heights
office and am there for the morning, get rice and pineapple for lunch across
the street, and work for a good part of the afternoon. I am working on creating
a database for all of Challenging Heights’ records that allows them to more
easily access the data. After initially creating the framework for the database
last week, I was able to enter more data this week and get a good chunk of the
forms from the office fully entered. While I am not going to be able to finish
the whole thing, I know that this will create a good base for future work to be
done as well. Other than working in the office, some of the other girls are
working in the schools doing reading assisting, and still some others are working
in the health system in different areas.

The relationships we have formed in Ghana are one of the
most important things that I am taking away from this trip. Not only with the
Ghanaians, but with each other. I am so happy to say that I now have 14 other
best friends I can hang out all the time with when we get back to GV. We have
become like a second family while on our journey here. Emmanuel owns the
hostel, and we are fortunate to have made yet another group of people we can
call our family. His extended family ranges in age, and are always there to
help us cook, help us understand Fante, teach us a new card game, or just to
talk with us. They have made our stay in Winneba so much better than I
imagined. After living in Winneba for four weeks and slowly adjusting to the
Ghanaian culture, I can say that I feel truly at home here.

We have thought about leaving and our thoughts follow these
lyrics by Andy Grammer, “I’m just sayin it’s fine by me if we never leave, we
could live like this forever it’s fine by me.” So while I am getting sadder by
the day that we have to leave, I am also reminded of all the wonderful things
that have happened so far and that makes me overjoyed.

This week in our service site at Challenging Heights we have
been working on our reading assisting with children in the library at the
school. Now that we have completed the advocates program we are developing a daily
routine for our time we spend serving. Fellow GVSU student Paige and I spend
our mornings in the library presenting a PowerPoint to small groups of teachers
on three methods used in the United States to teach reading in elementary
school. So far the feedback from these presentations has been extremely
positive and we are looking forward to more interactions with lower elementary
teachers at the school. For the rest of the day we assist students with their
reading in the library. This involves us sitting one on one with students and
hearing them read out loud, helping students understand the context of words or
how to pronounce words they do not know, or picking books that are just right
for the student’s various reading levels. We are becoming more familiar with
the students in each class and look forward every day to interact with them
more!

This weekend we made the decision as a group to utilize our
free days and head back to Accra for a day of shopping and adventures in the
city where we started this amazing trip. The morning began with 14 excited
ladies ready for a day of fun! Fellow GVSU student Kali happened to bring some
cds that were popular when we were younger (this included, to name a few,
“Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson, “Metamorphosis” by Hilary Duff, and a Dixie
Chicks album) and we had a major jam session on the way there.

By the time we got to the arts market we were fully prepared
to take on the merchants with our newly acquired skills in negotiating and a
few Fante words (most importantly the word for no, dabi). We pulled into the
parking lot and much to our surprise there were only a few people scattered
about. This reassured us that we made the right decision in making this the
first stop on our day trip. Many of us got into smaller groups to weave through
the aisles of wooden crafts, paintings, fabric, jewelry, and more. We came to
the arts market with the intention of buying all of our souvenirs that we have
not had the chance to purchase so far. With a little extra spending money from our
leaders, we also had our eyes peeled for things that we wanted to take home for
ourselves to remember this trip. We were given about two and a half hours to
make our final purchases and head back to the bus.By the time we had to leave, everyone had armfuls
of things they had bought for presents for themselves and also to give to their
family and friends. Some common things that were brought back were backpacks,
wooden animals, Ghana gear, and paintings. The energy was extremely high and
everyone was talking over each other, trying to describe what they found and
how many cedis they had spent.

After the arts market we made our way to Global Mamas, a
non-profit and fair trade organization that allows women throughout Africa to
make goods and become financially independent through the sale of their items. Everything
throughout the store was beautiful and the prints were so unique. My favorite
print I saw in the store was red with big sunflowers stamped on it. There were
so many things to buy and it was so hard to decide on what to get! To check out
more or even online shop here is the website: www.globalmamas.org

Some of the amazing prints Global Mamas has to buy all sorts
of things in!

Since the first half of the day was spent shopping we
quickly were hungry and ready for some food at Frankie’s! We had been to this American/ Lebanese restaurant the first week we were in Accra so most of us knew what we were
going to order. It goes without saying that since there were milkshakes on the
menu almost everyone ordered that to drink! We were also excited to get our
American food fix before heading back out to continue our day. While we were
there we ran into the other group from GVSU that is currently in Ghana who
stayed in Cape Coast for four weeks on a different study abroad program. Sadly,
they were eating their last meal in Ghana and were heading to the airport that
evening. We collectively agreed that we were not ready to be the ones to leave
this place we now call home! Thank goodness we still have some time before we
have to be the ones to say goodbye!

The restaurant where we ate lunch, Frankie’s!

Some of our GVSU students walking around Accra!

We stopped at the Shoprite grocery store after we finished
our meal. There were some last minute snacks that we felt the need to pick up
as well as some essentials for the rest of our meals in Winneba. After only
spending a small amount of time there we made our way back to the bus to head
home.

One of our friends from Challenging Heights, Brigitte, told
us about a place called the “Circle” and described it as a market that featured
cheap shoes, movies, and seasons of tv shows. Since it was on our way back home
to Winneba we thought it was necessary to stop. We were given only 45 minutes
but in that short amount of time we got some great deals! Most of us walked
away with a movie or two to watch once we got home for only 3 cedis a piece!

Throughout the week some of us girls have been communicating
with our Fante teacher from Accra, Charles, about the fact that we would be in
town. He told us in the morning that he had pulled a muscle and couldn’t walk
around the markets with us, which was disappointing news since we missed him so
much. But while we were at the “Circle” our Ghanaian leader, Samuel, got a text
from Charles saying that he was planning on hitching a ride back to Winneba
with us to tag along on our trip to Cape Coast the next day! We were ecstatic
and when we saw his grinning face walking down the street towards the bus we
couldn’t help but to yell and wave out the window to him! We had a lot of
catching up to do and Charles made sure he asked every student on the bus what
they have been doing in Winneba at their respective service sites. The rest of
the car ride was spent time singing our hearts out to some more classic
pre-teen music.

Fellow GVSU student Erin brought up a good point during the
day that even though we all went shopping together we still didn’t know what
each person had bought throughout the day. In order to showcase our purchases
the first thought was a show and tell to present our items. This event quickly
expanded and turned into an open house style demonstration of our things. When
we got home everyone was asked to put their new purchases on their beds and
then as a group we would walk around and look through all of the items. It was
so great to see what everyone got and get some ideas on other things we might
still want to look out for to get for ourselves or as gifts for others.

Although we are sad it is already one of the last weekends
we will spend in Ghana, we are so thankful to have bonding moments like these
to solidify our relationships we have with each other in the group. The
shopping was fun but the little moments in between are the things we are going
to remember the most when we get back home!